Kayla Matthews explains six important suggestions that will help IT experts get their companies ready to conquer 2020's biggest cyber challenges. Updating cybersecurity practices now means people won't get caught off-guard and unable to deal with threats that arise.

Cybersecurity is ever-evolving, and that means you cannot use the same techniques year after year to mitigate the risks.

Here are six suggestions to get your company well-equipped for 2020 and all the threats it could bring.

1. Consider Implementing AI Into Your IT Cybersecurity Strategy

If you haven't thought about using artificial intelligence (AI) for threat detection and network monitoring, make that a priority in 2020. Cybersecurity threats are increasingly advanced and frequent. Human teams alone often cannot address all the possible issues and figure out if they're legitimate reasons for concern or false alarms.

AI tools learn what's normal for a network and detect deviations. Some also categorize the threats according to severity, letting cybersecurity professionals know which things to tackle first.

2. Keep All IoT Devices Secured

Gartner forecasts an astounding 5.8 billion Internet of Things (IoT) devices used for enterprise and automotive applications alone by 2020. That's a 21% increase from 2019. Your business has likely already experienced many of the conveniences associated with using these connected devices at work. However, companies often don't know which IoT devices are connected to their networks or even the total number.

Being in the dark about those things makes it impossible to keep the IoT devices secured against attacks. Ponemon Institute released a study in May 2019 that highlighted the threats of IoT device data breaches. It showed that more than 80% of respondents expect data breaches to happen on their unsecured IoT devices within two years. Additionally, Ponemon's report revealed an 11% increase in IoT device breaches from 2017 to 2019.

Your business should implement a practice of immediately securing each IoT device before it gets used at work. Checking everything for security patch updates on a regular schedule is another way to safeguard against breaches.

3. Don't Look for One Cybersecurity Solution to Solve All Your Needs

Some of your 2020 cybersecurity updates will probably require investing in some new tools. The companies that provide those offerings recognize the unprecedented impacts that hacks and breaches can have on businesses and consumers. Therefore, they position their products as solving the pain points companies often experience.

The cybersecurity marketplace rapidly grew into a $100 billion industry, and some brands within it claim they can meet several requirements with a single product. Although some tools serve more than one function, bear in mind that there's no one offering that can conquer all your cybersecurity shortcomings.

As you get educated about the kinds of cybersecurity solutions that exist, take a threat-based approach by determining which attacks your organization will most likely encounter in 2020. Then, search for products that can help fight back.

4. Teach Employees About BEC Phishing Scams

Hopefully, your company educates its employees about cybersecurity best practices, including how to recognize phishing scams. As you update the curriculum for 2020, make sure the content covers business email compromise (BEC) scams.

Statistics from the FBI's Internet Crime Report indicate that BEC scams caused nearly $1.3 billion in losses during 2018. Coverage about BEC scams published by Symantec earlier this year strongly suggests that these kinds of internet tricks won't become less problematic in 2020.

The goal of a BEC scam is to impersonate someone within a company to make an employee disclose personal information. For example, a victim might receive an email that appears to come from someone within the human resources department. The content could ask for the recipient to provide their bank account details to "update their direct deposit records."

The recipient may do so willingly, especially since the sender's email address typically looks almost identical to the format the company uses. Other BEC scams may include someone posing as the CEO of a company and requesting that someone provide information urgently. Since someone doesn't want to disobey a company leader and put their job at risk, they comply.

5. Caution Against Poor File-Sharing Practices

People are so accustomed to sharing files through a variety of often insecure platforms that they don't change their habits when they get to work. A recent study from Code42 found that 31% of respondents did not use company-provided platforms to share files with their colleagues or collaborate in other ways. They used social media sharing options instead.

Distributing company materials that way could make it easier for unauthorized people to see confidential files. Also, when workers decide not to use the sharing tools the enterprise gives them, it becomes more difficult for the company to keep track of who has company content that should only get handled by a restricted group of people.

Bear in mind that people at the company may not initially realize there's anything wrong with sharing files outside of the channels that are set up. That's why any cybersecurity training about this matter should always begin with explaining the vulnerabilities of general file sharing apps not intended for company use.

6. Adjust Your Cybersecurity Plan to Accommodate 5G

2020 is the year when the 5G network should start to have a significant impact on how everyday people and businesses use the internet. Even if you're not sure when your area will have a fully functioning 5G network, start making plans early in 2020 for how you'll keep your company safe from cyberthreats once the faster, low-latency connectivity option rolls out.

Cybersecurity experts think that since the network will create a larger attack surface, it'll be easier for cybercriminals to orchestrate incidents that affect victims on a much broader scale. Also, since the 5G network will facilitate using more IoT devices and processing data-heavy applications, cybercriminals may revamp their strategies to target weaknesses differently.

Proactiveness Avoids Cybersecurity Catastrophes

You can't anticipate every future cybersecurity risk now. However, these six tips will ensure your gameplan takes 2020's biggest obstacles into account.